Nurses

Ontario has four different hospital types including public hospitals, private hospitals, federal hospitals, and Cancer Care Ontario Hospitals. There are 211 hospital sights in Ontario.

One hundred and fifty five are hospital corporations. Fifty six are hospitals under an umbrella corporation. Ontario also has eight private hospitals providing services under the" Private Hospitals Act" who receive funding for their operation from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC).

Throughout McGuinty's campaign he promised to hire another 9000 nurses. McGuinty did not hire 9000 nurses all through his last tenure as premier. Since 2004 the Ontario government disclosed 1202 positions were created in Ontario hospitals servicing patients in every area of hospital care from intake to the ward to the operating room. In the time period from 2004 to the end of 2006 each hospital was lucky enough to receive 5.7 nurses which were not too many in 3 years.

The public who assumed McGuinty's figures to be correct were taken in as they were not factual. The correct figure was just over 5000, not 9000. The distinction between the just over 5000 and the figure of 1202 covered other care units not documented as Ontario hospitals outlined earlier. One can see a hospital is indeed short of nurses if all they can expect is 5.7 nurses in 3 years.

Graduation should not even enter the picture as nurses graduate every year. There are nurses in training right now that will graduate next year, not 3 or 4 years from now.

Follow the scarcity very closely as I am sure the outcome will be no different.